Process of making ferro-uranium



F. F. MUELLER AND R. W. HARRIS PROCESS oF MAKING FERRMRANIUM.

APPLlCATION FILED OCT. 20|1920. 1,43 3,403. Patented Oct. 24, 1922.

Lol/14W Patented @et 24, 1922;

NETED STATES 1,433,403 PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK F. MUELLER AND RUSSELL W. HARRIS, OF WASHINGTON, PENNSYL- VANIA, ASSIGNORS T0 STANDARD CHEMICAL COMPANY, 0F PITTSBURGH,

PENNSYLVANIA;

PROCESS OF MAKING FERRO-URANIUM.

Application led October 20, 1920.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FREDERICK F. MUEL- LER and RUSSELL W. HARRIS, citizens of the United States, and residents of Washington, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Making Ferro-Uranium; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, Such as will enable others Skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention 'relates to an improved process of making ferro-uranium,-one object of the invention being to produce ferrouranium low in carbon and silicon.

With this and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel steps in a process of making ferro-uranium as hereinafter set forth and pointed out in the claims. 4

The accompanying drawing is a view in Section of an electric furnace which we employ in carrying out our process.

1 represents the shell of the furnace which may be provided with trunnions 2 to be mounted upon a suitable support so as to be capable of tipping to discharge the finished product. The shell l iS hollow and may comprise steel plates so disposed and secured as to provide a chamber 3 between them to receive iuid, such as water, for cooling purposes. For this reason, the hollow shell may be provided with suitably located taps 4.

Within the shell l, a lining 5 is located and the mass composing this lining` is shaped to provide a furnace chamber or hearth 6 open at its upper end.- The furnace shell is provided in its bottom with an opening 7 fdr the accommodation of a bottom electrode 8.. This electrodeI maybe made of steel and pr'ovided with a headed upper end embeddedv inthe material of the lining 5 below the bottofu of the hearth or furnace chamber 6, and a plurality of iron wires9 may extend from the headed end of said electrode to the bottom of the hearth or furnace chamber to facilitate the Starting of the operation of the` furnace when the latter and the material to be treated are cold.

The upper electrode 10 of the furnace, which may be made of graphite. depends into the furnace chamber and is carried by suit- Serial No. 418,161.

able regulating mechanism (not shown) to permit its manipulation to establish, maintain and regulate the length of the electric arc between the two electrodes and the intensity and degree of the heat to which it may be desired to subject the material under treatment during the carrying out of our improved process, may be determined and controlled by manipulation of said regulating mechanism to raise or lower said upper electrode and thus lengthen or shorten the arc. The upper electrode may have a busbar 11 clamped thereto for connection, by means of a flexible cable (not shown) 'to one of the terminals of a transformer. and the lower electrodel may also have a bus-bar 12 clamped thereto and connected by a iexible cable (not Shown) with the other terminal of the transformer.

An important feature in the construction of the furnace resides in the character of the lining employed. This lining is composed prmcipally of uranium oxide. We mix black oxide of uranium-with a binder such as tar and from live to fifteen per cent of refractory cement, such as ire clay or hytempite. The purpose of the binder and refractory cement is to give body to the lining or to promote cohesion between the particles of uranium oxide.

In carrying our process into eiect a suitable charge of uranium oxide mixed with an amount of carbon necessary to reduce it is placedin the furnace. The `electric current is applied and continued until the charge shall have been ymelted and reduced. When this shall have vbeen accomplished, the, intensity of the current will be increased (which may be accomplished by lowering the upper electrode and thus shortening the electric arc), in order that the temperature may be raised to a degree necessary to elimiy nate the carbon in the bath. The oxygen of than one per cent (1%), iron is then added to the bath in the form of steel turnings or any other suitable form.

The resultant product will be ferro-uranium lo'w in carbon and silicon,-viz., less than one per cent carbon and less than two per cent silicon.

Having fully. described our invention what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent,I is

1. The herein described process of making ferro-uranium consisting in subjecting uranium oXide with a carbonaceous reducing material to a reducing temperature in an electric furnace having a lining, consisting principally of non-carbonaceous material, raising the temperature in said furnace sufciently to eliminate the major portion of the carbon in the bath, then adding iron to said bath, and recovering ferro-uranium 10W in carbon and silicon.

2. The herein described process of making ferro-uranium, consisting in reducing uranium oxide with carbon in an electric furnace having a uranium oxide lining, raising the temperature in said furnace and eliminating the major portion of the carbon content of the bath, then adding iron to the bath and recovering ferro-uranium lovi7 in carbon and silicon.

3. The herein described process of making ferro-uranium, consisting in reducing uranium oxide' 1n an electric furnace lhaving a lining composed principally of non-carbonaceous material until-a gaseous blanket is formed over the molten uranium, adding iron to the bath, and recovering ferro-uranium low in carbon and silicon. i

et. The herein described process of making ferro-uranium, consisting in reducing uranium oxide in an electric furnace having a lining composed principally Vof non-carbonaceous material, adding iron to the bath, and recovering ferro-uranium low in carbon and silicon. v 5. The herein described process of making ferrouranium,' consisting in reducing uranium oxide in an electricsfurnace having a lining composed principally of uranium oxide, adding iron to the bath, and recovering ferro-uranium low in carbon and silicon.

In testimony whereof, we have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FREDERICKRMURLLER. RUSSELL w. HARRIS.

Witnessesi CLYDE E. HALDER, THos. J. GEARING. 

